Last Quarter
by Lakara Valentine
Summary: Summary inside because site fails and won't give me enough room to post it here. Rating may go up later, I haven't rly decided yet.


Summary: Sarah dreams of dancing in a strange ballroom and is haunted by a beautiful voice and mismatched eyes. She remembers nothing of the Labyrinth and has even forgotten Jareth. Until one night when she wanders into a seemingly abandoned house, only to hear a melody from her dreams and find the one man that will never betray her.

Ok, first off a little introduction. The first few chapters of this fic are based very heavily on the Japanese movie Last Quarter, but I am not classifying this fic as a crossover because it is, at heart, a Labyrinth fic. There were simply a few scenes in Last Quarter that I thought fit Sarah and Jareth perfectly. If you have ever seen LQ then you will recognize at least two scenes that I copied almost exactly tho I did give them a Labyrinthian twist. And so, without further ado (aside from the disclaimer that I own nothing aside from a well-loved Laby DVD and a recently acquired LQ avi file) I present to the critical minds of the world my first written work in well over a year, Last Quarter.

**Last Quarter**

"I know this song."

"That's because I wrote it for you."

"That's impossible. I've known it since I was young… I've never met anyone else who knows it."

"We've met before."

-Last Quarter

"_I'll be there for you…as the world falls down…" The song faded with the rest of the room, the only thing visible a pair of mismatched eyes just before reality shattered like glass …_

Sarah awoke with a start just in time to hear the obnoxious buzzing of her alarm clock. She groaned and slapped at the ever annoying box on her bedside table displaying 6:00 in blazing red digits. Sitting up, she rubbed at her eyes and wiped a hand over her face in frustration. _Why do I keep having that dream? Why do I feel like I've been there before? _ Thoughts of the mysterious vision were quickly shoved aside as she threw the sheets off of her and went about getting ready for her day at the theatre. All those years practicing in the park had finally paid off and she had landed a role in a play that was to open that night.

She smiled as she remembered how her boyfriend, Sam, had seemed so excited to finally be able to see how all those lines she had practiced with him fit together with the action to form a beautiful love story.

That night, just hours before the performance, Sam came to Sarah's apartment to take her to dinner. As she slid into the passenger seat next to him, she leaned in to give him a kiss, his hand lingering on her cheek as she pulled away. He smiled at her, "You're so beautiful, Sarah. Those people in the audience tonight will think they've died and you are the angel come to guide them to heaven."

Sarah just laughed at him, "Oh, Sam, stop it! You know all they'll see is the stage make-up! Now, where are we going for dinner?"

He grinned at her mischievously, "Just wait and see, love…" She gave him a suspicious side-long glance, but didn't say anything as he pulled away from the curb outside her building and began driving towards the nicer end of town.

Her eyes almost bulged out of her head when he stopped in front of one of the most expensive restaurants in the small college town where she lived. "Sam, are you serious? This place is way outside your budget! C'mon, we can just go to Chili's, it's still nice and it won't make you go bankrupt."

Sam laughed as he turned off the engine and went around the car to open her door, grabbing her hand and pulling her out. "Tonight is special, darling. Nothing is too much tonight." He winked as he led her into the building and gave his name to the host waiting to seat them.

They talked and laughed all through dinner, Sarah's eyes lit in happiness the whole time. Finally, after years of being alone and dozens of failed relationships, she had found the one person that made her the happiest. Sure he had his flaws, being a notorious playboy not the least of them, but she always knew that she was the one he loved and could never find it in her to be mad at him for long.

After dinner, he drove her to the theatre and kissed her good-bye. "I'll be sitting in the front row, dear. Don't worry, you'll do wonderfully." Sarah smiled, kissing him once more before running inside as he drove off to find a parking space.

The performance was flawless, the months of rehearsal making it flow with hardly any problems at all. When the actors and actresses came out for their final bows, Sam was the first to stand and give them, Sarah in particular, a roaring standing ovation. After the director gave a few notes to the cast backstage, Sarah retired to the dressing rooms to find Sam leaning against a vanity with a big, stupid grin on his face. She ran to him, laughing as he swept her up into a spinning hug, despite her huge, wedding-esque skirt. He bent down to kiss her cheek, whispering in her ear, "I told you they would love you."

She just smirked up at him, "You're supposed to say you love me more."

He laughed and tapped a finger on her nose. "But why say what I know you already know? Now hurry up and change, I'm sure everyone is eager to get the after party started."

Sarah changed as fast as she could after he left the room, exiting in a simple ensemble of jeans and t-shirt, a jacket on her arm in case the autumn night turned chilly. Sam was right, the party was almost in full swing by the time they arrived at the bar where the rest of the cast was waiting. They all cheered when she entered, causing an embarrassed blush to cross her cheeks as she slid into a booth with Sam and her best friends, Mary and Anna.

Mary leaned across the table, "You were amazing tonight, Sarah, so quit trying to act modest and enjoy yourself!" Everyone at the table laughed and ordered a round of drinks.

As the night went on, Anna seemed to be drinking a bit more than usual and was giving Sam quite a few strange looks that went unnoticed by Sarah. Eventually she left the table, claiming a need to visit the little girl's room. Not long after, Sarah also left, saying she needed a quick breath of fresh air, leaving Sam and Mary to take care of getting more drinks. Exiting the bar, Sarah noticed Anna standing nearby, leaning on the wall as if she was going to pass out any minute. Sarah put a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder, "You ok, Anna? Have a few too many tonight?"

Anna just snorted, "Heh, yeah… I'm fine though, don't worry about me."

Sarah eyed the girl carefully, "Alright, if you say so…"

She turned to go back inside, but stopped when Anna called to her. "Hey, wanna see something?" Sarah turned to see her holding her phone open, a picture on the screen.

She leaned in so she could see it better, only to back up with a gasp. It was Anna and Sam, both clearly naked as she could see their shoulders bared, laying in a bed, smiling at the camera. "No…" Her first reaction was shock, which quickly turned to anger as she stormed into the club and grabbed her purse from the table just as Sam was returning with the drinks. "Sarah? What's wrong?"

He seemed honestly confused as she simply turned to glare at him before stalking up to him and smacking him hard across the face. "Maybe you should ask Anna!" She turned to the door, storming out into the street, hearing him yelling after her, begging her to let him explain. She ignored him and kept walking, not knowing where she was going only that she was sick of being betrayed. Not only had her mother left her at a young age, but now she found that her boyfriend had been cheating on her with her best friend.

Sarah didn't know how long she had been walking, but she eventually found herself outside an iron gate leading to a huge, overgrown garden and an abandoned mansion. Something about the place seemed familiar, so she pushed the rusty gate open and walked down the broken path to the door. Finding it unlocked, she pushed it open, the candles mounted on the walls lighting as she passed them. If this startled her, she didn't show it as she continued walking into the house, following the sounds of a haunting melody she had been hearing in her dreams for years.

_There's such a fooled heart, beating so fast in search of new dreams, a love that will last… _The beautifully masculine voice drifted down the hall, accompanied by the soft sound of a piano. As Sarah neared the end of the hall, she found a room with the door opened halfway and pushed it open the rest of the way. What she saw made her gasp and almost step back in amazement. Sitting at the piano like an '80s rock god sat the most beautiful creature she had ever seen, his platinum blonde hair forming a halo around his head as a few longer strands flowed to the middle of his back, his attire of a frilly white poet's shirt and sinfully tight black pants with black boots distinctly outdated but not at all out of place. She watched in complete awe as the muscles in his back rippled with the movement of his hands on the keys, his voice drifting over her like the sound of ocean waves, calming and relaxing.

She was so caught up in his beauty, she almost didn't notice he'd stopped playing until his voice faded away and he turned to look at her. Sarah blinked and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I didn't know anyone was here when I came in and then I heard you singing that song. I didn't know anyone else knew it…" Her words fumbled to a halt as she realized she was rambling, a habit she had picked up when talking to extremely attractive men, especially when they were smiling, or rather smirking, at her. "Of course I would know this song, Sarah. I wrote it for you."

Sarah shook her head, "That's impossible! I've known it since I was young and we've never met!"

His smirk widened into a grin, "But Sarah… We have met before."

* * *

yes... a cliffhanger... i know... but hey, if i get enough people to complain at least i'll know i'm doing my job as an author, right? please let me know if this is worth continuing... if it's not i can always just go back to not writing .


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